Heading into June 2026, the Myrtle Beach luxury market update I keep giving clients sounds nothing like the headlines you see for the broader Grand Strand. The general market is in rebalance mode. The $1M and up segment is doing its own thing, and the gap between the two is the single most important thing a serious buyer or seller in this market should understand right now.
I work this market as a Founding Agent with SERHANT., based out of Myrtle Beach, and most of what I sell sits in Grande Dunes, on the Intracoastal Waterway, on the ocean, or in the gated communities running south from Murrells Inlet down to DeBordieu. The pace, pricing power, and inventory in that bracket move on a different clock than the entry-level resale numbers most market reports lead with.
Here is what I am watching as we close out spring.
The spring numbers, with luxury filtered out
The overall Myrtle Beach market in April 2026 closed at a $319,900 median sale price, with homes sitting 77 days on market on average compared to 71 a year ago, and 4,149 transactions across the broader area. That picture (more days on market, more closings, softer median) is consistent with a market that has tilted modestly toward buyers in the entry and mid-tier.
The luxury segment, by which I mean homes priced at $1M and above, behaves differently. Coastal $1M+ inventory tends to attract a different kind of buyer (cash and high-down-payment, often a relocator or second-home buyer), so it is less sensitive to the small rate moves that push and pull the under-$500K market. That decoupling is the dynamic shaping June 2026.
Where the $1M+ Grand Strand luxury real estate market sits right now
Active inventory in the $1M and up bracket on the Grand Strand has expanded from where it was at this point in 2024, but most of that growth is in two places: new construction and resale homes that need a five to seven year update. Well-built, move-in-ready waterfront and oceanfront inventory has not loosened nearly as much. Demand at the top of the market did not soften the way some agents predicted.
A few specifics from what I am seeing across MLS and the work my team is doing on the ground:
- Grande Dunes currently has roughly 120 active listings on MLS with an average list price around $1.1M and a high in the high three millions for waterfront estate properties. That is a wide spread, which is what makes Grande Dunes a useful read on the market. You can pull data on townhomes in Living Dunes in the upper $700s right alongside Intracoastal Waterway estates in the $3M to $4M range.
- Oceanfront single-family supply is tight again. Myrtle Beach proper oceanfront generally trades between $850K and around $5M depending on lot and condition. Briarcliffe Acres, where lots are larger and homes more custom, runs from the low $2M into the mid-$5M range. North Myrtle Beach oceanfront comes in lower, roughly $700K to $3M.
- The south end is its own market. DeBordieu Colony and Prince George in Pawleys Island typically sit in the $1M to $6M range, and well-priced, well-built homes in those gates still move quickly when they hit.
The takeaway: aggregate median price numbers mean almost nothing for a luxury buyer or seller on the Grand Strand. Segment matters more than market.
What is moving in the Myrtle Beach luxury market (and what is not)
When I sort recent transactions in the upper bracket, the pattern is clean.
What moves quickly:
- Truly new or near-new construction with current finishes (proper waterproofing, hurricane-rated glazing, hardiplank or stucco installed correctly, real roof underlayment, modern HVAC zoning).
- Waterfront with a usable dock and depth at low tide. Buyers who want the Intracoastal Waterway boat lifestyle do not compromise on dock condition or water depth. They will pay up for a property where the dock is already there and right.
- Gated, golf, and amenity-heavy communities with strong HOAs. Grande Dunes' Members Club, The Dunes Club, and Barefoot Resort homes are still attracting outside money.
What sits:
- Original-build oceanfront and Intracoastal Waterway homes from the early 2000s that have not been updated, where the asking price assumes the buyer values the land but the seller still wants to be paid for the house.
- Aspirationally priced new construction where the builder is testing $400 to $500 per finished foot on a lot or in a community that does not support it yet.
- Anything where the inspection is likely to surface real issues. This is where my custom home building background changes how I write offers. I have seen too many luxury contracts blow up at the inspection table over construction problems that should have been caught at the build, and I look for them on the front end now.
Rates, cash, and how luxury buyers are paying
The 30-year fixed has been sitting around 6.4% to 6.7% through May 2026, and the consensus from Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and the Mortgage Bankers Association is that rates will live in roughly that 6.3% to 6.5% band through the rest of 2026. You can track the weekly average on the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
For a $1.5M Grande Dunes home, that rate environment matters less than people assume. A meaningful share of upper-bracket buyers on the Grand Strand pay cash or put down 35% to 50%. Where rates do bite, it is on the jumbo financing decision. Buyers in the $1.5M to $3M range are weighing whether to finance more aggressively today and refinance later, or pay down and protect cash. Both can be right. It depends on what the rest of their portfolio is doing.
If you are financing a Grand Strand luxury purchase, talk to a portfolio lender who actually writes jumbo paper on second homes in coastal South Carolina. The product matters more than the rate quote.
What this means if you are buying
The window for a buyer who knows what they want is good right now. Specifically:
- There is more inventory than there was a year ago, which means more leverage on contingencies and inspection items.
- Sellers in the upper bracket are not panicking, but they are negotiating. Asking-versus-sold spreads have widened in the $1M to $2.5M band.
- Construction quality is the single biggest swing factor in luxury value on the Grand Strand. A great location with a poorly built house can still be a bad buy. A solid location with a well-built house is the play.
If you are relocating, especially from the Northeast, the move-in window matters too. I would rather see a Northeast relocator under contract in June than fighting through the August showing rush. There is a 2026 Myrtle Beach luxury relocation guide on my site that covers the tax, school, and lifestyle questions in more detail.
What this means if you are selling
If you are sitting on a $1M+ home and considering the back half of 2026, here is the honest read.
You can still get top of market in this segment, but the marketing has to be right and the price has to be defensible. Buyers in the upper bracket have access to the same data my team does, and they are comparing properly. Three things matter most:
- Pricing to the comps that actually closed, not to active competition that is sitting.
- Marketing that does not look like every other agent's marketing. The brokerage you list with should be moving your home outside the local audience. SERHANT.'s national reach into New York, Florida, and the Northeast feeder markets is the reason a meaningful share of my buyers come from outside the Carolinas.
- A pre-list construction read. I walk every potential luxury listing as if I were inspecting it to buy, before we set price. If there are issues, we fix the cheap ones, disclose the rest, and price accordingly. It saves the deal at inspection later.
If you want a real read on what your home is worth in this market, you can request a private valuation through my Myrtle Beach home valuation tool or call me directly at (803) 517-3536.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Myrtle Beach luxury market a buyer's market or seller's market in June 2026?
Both, depending on segment. The under-$700K resale market has tilted toward buyers. The $1M+ segment, especially waterfront and oceanfront with good build quality, is still favoring sellers, just with sharper negotiation on contingencies and inspection items.
What does $1M buy on the Grand Strand right now?
At $1M you are typically choosing between a quality home off the water in Grande Dunes or a gated golf community, a smaller oceanfront condo, a North Myrtle Beach oceanfront teardown or older build, or a south-end inland home in DeBordieu or Prince George. Pure single-family oceanfront in central Myrtle Beach generally starts above that.
How long are luxury homes sitting on market?
Days on market in the broader Myrtle Beach area is averaging in the high 70s right now. The well-built, well-priced $1M+ inventory typically moves faster than that. Aspirationally priced inventory sits much longer and often resets.
Are Grande Dunes prices still going up?
Directionally, yes, in the parts of Grande Dunes with the strongest demand drivers (Intracoastal Waterway frontage, Members Club homes, the Marina). The condo and townhome segments inside the community are more rate-sensitive and have moved sideways over the past year.
If you want a real conversation about this market
Numbers in a blog can only get you so far. If you are looking at a specific community, a specific street, or a specific listing and want a straight read, I would rather talk through it directly. I am at (803) 517-3536, [email protected], or you can start with my Myrtle Beach neighborhood guide and current luxury homes for sale in Myrtle Beach to see what is on the market this week.
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